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'Engage In Colour' Exhibition Review

A review of ARTbound Community and guest artist's current exhibition at the Creative Arts Hub CIC, Mirfield, on unti 12th August 2017.
04/08/2017
Mirfield, not a location in Yorkshire renowned for its art scene, or is it? Appearances can be deceiving from the street but as you ascend the main staircase to the Creative Arts Hub CIC above the shops of the main street, you will be pleasantly surprised. This flexible venue offers artist studios, space for workshops and of course exhibition space as a gallery. The ‘hub’ also featured as a participating venue of the Mirfield Arts Festival (14th – 16th July 2017), an event in the centre of Mirfield that included this exhibition, artist open studios, performances and more.

This group show of talented artists made up of members of the ARTbound Community and guest artists from around the region, organised by ARTbound and curated in conjunction with Creative Arts Hub CIC director Mark Milnes, the exhibition certainly is a visual explosion of colour. The preview was well attended by the artists, friends, family and members of the local community welcomed by the hostess of the evening, the founder of ARTbound Community, Meg Oxford.

ARTbound Community was established in Yorkshire in 2014 as “a membership based art agency” (ARTbound Community 2017) supporting established and emerging artists through various opportunities including this exhibition in collaboration with partnering spaces and galleries (ARTbound Community 2017). Membership to the agency gives artists another platform to showcase their work but is developing a sense of community and mutual support for artists to move forward with their creative careers.

“This exhibition aims to enhance the beauty in abstractions, with no common theme other than to push the artist’s creative limits and visually appeal to the audience’s mind.” (ARTbound Community 2017).

Although the curator’s aim was that there is “no common theme other than to push the artist’s creative limits” (ARTbound Community 2017) to link the artists’ work, I would argue that colour and composition is the consistent ‘thread’ that binds the works. True, each artist has explored movement, composition, shape and colour (ARTbound Community 2017) in their own unique form of expression but this has created an eclectic collection of painting, sculpture, watercolour, mixed media and installation artworks to enjoy.

I was privileged to witness artist Tina Dempsey creating her installation ‘Untitled 2017’ (above) prior to the opening evening. Talking to Tina, she describes her work as a ‘response process’ and this work was constructed on site at the exhibition space. The pieces that make up the composition are cut and pinned in place to create the final composition responding to the space (Tina Dempsey, 2017). This process is intriguing to watch and the delicate installation of ‘sculpted’ pattern and colour and has a temporality that, “the viewer is invited to interpret” (Tina Dempsey, 2017).

Every artist has contributed captivating artworks in their own right, however, in my opinion, notable works in the exhibition were Judith Gill’s ‘Wild Roses’ glass sculpture and Ben Snowden’s ‘Jewels from the Sea’. For me these works reflect the range of materials, processes and themes explored by this diverse group of artists. This eclectic collection of works, is a visual feast that requires you to survey the walls of this surprising space in Mirfield not just once and. Every time I circuited the exhibition, enjoying the atmosphere of the space, talking to other guests and the sense of community of the opening evening, I noticed something different every time. Meg Oxford and Mark Milnes have successfully curated, organised and hung an engaging exhibition, the talented artists of which should be proud and is sure to be enjoyed by many who come to Mirfield to see it. I highly recommend you see this exhibition.

Artists Exhibiting are: Aimee Green - Giddy Art; Ali Thompson; Andy Wild; Becky Cornes; Ben Snowden; Burgette Matthews ; David Preston; Emma Connolly; Felicia Charles; Gabrielle Tymków; Gemma Lowe; Guigs Art ; Helen Gibson - The Perky Painter; Henry Vince; Jenny Zigzag; John Cockshaw; Judith Gill; Juliette Anne ;Kevin Raikes; Laurence Walker-Tonks; Lisa V Robinson; Lou Gilmore-George; Lynn Fotheringham; Lynne Dobson; Mark Parkinson; Michelle Harrison; Mick Mills; Mussarat Rahman; Phil Scaife; Rachel Carter; Rachel Hinds; Ryoko M; Sarah Ashleigh Attwell; Sarah Hardy-Box; Sinéad Loftus; Stella Hill; Tina Dempsey ; Zenaira Sattar.(ARTbound Community 2017)

‘Engage in Colour’ is open Fri 7th July – Sat 12th August 2017 at the Creative Arts Hub CIC, 1st Floor, 51-53 Huddersfield Rd, Mirfield, WF14 8AB
Opening Times Weds - Fri 10am–5pm | Sat 10am–3pm, Closed Sun – Tues.

CREDITS: ARTbound Community, Tina Dempsey & artwork featured Copyright © Tina Dempsey

PHOTO CREDIT: Burgette Matthews

WITH THANKS TO: Meg Oxford (ARTbound Community), Mark Milnes (Creative Arts Hub CIC) and Tina Dempsey.


ARTbound Community / Tina Dempsey / Creative Arts Hub C I C
Artwork Copyright © Tina Dempsey